An informed citizenry

Columnist Paul Krugman provides a cogent critique of some of the idiocies emanating from GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum [“Dangerous ground: GOP education stance,” Opinion, March 11].

Especially absurd is Santorum’s recent outburst in which he equates higher education with rote indoctrination. For one who openly brandishes his particular brand of conservative Catholicism, it might behoove Santorum to reflect on the fact that one of the great achievements of American Catholicism is the founding of a prestigious array of colleges and universities.

At places like Notre Dame, Holy Cross, Marquette, Boston College and our own Seattle University can be found erudite professors and first-rate teachers with a command of academic pursuits ranging from the hard sciences and engineering to social sciences and the humanities.

Any presidential contender who deliberately casts suspicion on learning and intellectual prowess deserves to be ignored by all thoughtful citizens.

Our world is an increasingly complex place abounding in technological, ecological and social challenges.

An informed citizenry that is literate, numerate, well-educated and capable of critical thought is indispensable in this most turbulent time.

— Joe Martin, Seattle